


Their Context Subtly Altered

by aldiara



Category: In Other Lands | The Turn of the Story - Sarah Rees Brennan
Genre: Bring Back The Porn Challenge, Dialogue Heavy, First Time, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Morning After, Morning Cuddles, Morning Sex, Snark, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 12:02:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20488568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aldiara/pseuds/aldiara
Summary: The should-be tender morning after the night before.





	Their Context Subtly Altered

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Bring Back the Porn challenge under seriously sleepless conditions - unbeta'd, so please feel free to point out any issues. Apparently I always fall face-first into fluff with these two. It's disgraceful, really.

***

The thing that Elliot was never going to admit, not to anyone, not under torture – well, probably under torture, because withstanding pain was not a skill Elliot possessed or aspired to, but he was planning on talking his way out of that one, if it came to it – anyway, the unadmittable thing was this: his favourite part about newly being with someone was waking up with them. To them. To the strange new feeling, half nervous, half elated, of knowing his perception had rearranged itself, shifted him into a new awareness of another person, their context subtly altered from “you and I” to “us.”

More prosaically, it was nice to wake up warm. Almost too warm, for a change: Luke, as it turned out, was a very affectionate sleeper. Elliot blinked awake to the downy softness of a wing draped over him and the heavier warmth of Luke’s arm curled around his waist. His other arm was under Elliot’s head and the rest of him was pressed up against Elliot’s back, long legs tangled with his own. There didn’t seem to be a place they were not touching. 

Elliot stretched a bit, gently pushing the top part of Luke’s wing away. A thin grey light was trickling its way through the window. The morning sky was still bruised purple, barely edging into dawn. Too early for anyone sensible to be awake.

Elliot, who had never been accused of being sensible, wriggled back against the sleepy tangle of Luke’s limbs and slowly, consciously opened himself to the new memories that flooded him: images, by turns sharp and hazy, of Luke talking at him furiously, fanning open the pages of a painful and unlikely story about four years of wanting. Luke glowing beneath Elliot, half-naked, hands eager against Elliot’s skin. Luke’s body moving against his, Luke’s face surprised by the sudden spill of pleasure. The taste of Luke, and the sound Luke made when he came.

Elliot turned his nose into the soft skin on the inside of Luke’s bicep and smiled to himself, feeling warm and foolish and ridiculously smug. Operation hot half-harpy boyfriend was an unexpected and total win. He experimentally moved his legs, drawing his toes up one of Luke’s shins. He felt rather than heard the quality of Luke’s breathing change, the arm under his cheek tensing slightly.

Craning his neck, he met sleepy blue eyes and a crooked smile that was a little hesitant and made Elliot’s chest ache with some truly stupid things. 

“Hi?” Luke murmured, voice still sleep-scratchy. 

Elliot smiled at him fully, not wanting Luke to feel uncertain even for a second.

“Hi, you,” he said, and twisted further to kiss Luke, because Luke being kissed in the mornings, he had decided, was going to be absolutely mandatory.

The kissing went on at length. Elliot didn’t even mind the awkward angle, because Luke was pressing fully against him and was very much enjoying that, from the feel of things. The arm under Elliot’s head had curled so he could stroke Elliot’s hair; his other hand curled, shyly but determined, around Elliot’s morning hardness. A wing curved over both of them, creating an intimate cocoon of downy warmth.

“Hi,” Luke said again, while sliding his hand up and down, and Elliot burst out laughing.

“Did you just say hi to my dick?”

“Er, maybe,” Luke said, shiftily. 

Elliot cackled, wriggling his arse against the hard length of Luke. “Well, hi to yours, too, but we’re not making a habit of talking to them, thank you.”

“Okay,” Luke said, grinning, and started nibbling kisses up Elliot’s nape, nosing into his hair in a way that made Elliot want to shiver. His hand kept moving slowly, in tandem with his hips.

They kept that up for a while, without much urgency yet, just enjoying the contact, until Luke leaned over far enough to see Elliot’s face and blurted, very abruptly, “Elliot?”

“Mhmm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Elliot replied, a little warily but also amused at the abashed expression on Luke’s face.

“Have you, uhm…” Luke began, unconsciously nudged his hips forward, and promptly went bright red.

Elliot cocked a brow. He had, perhaps, expected questions about last night, some kind of mutual reassurance that things had gone well and they both felt that the current state of affairs was excellent indeed and would continue to stay that way. He hadn’t quite expected this.

“Have I what?”

Luke bit his lip. “You know. Have you?”

Elliot really wanted to make him finish his question but he had promised himself he would do his best to be nice about this. Getting off on Luke stuttering his way through his inept verbalising of sexually explicit questions was probably not super-nice. 

He lightly stroked Luke’s thigh instead. “I have, yeah.”

Luke was so close that Elliot could hear the sound of him swallowing. “Right. Uh… which way?”

Elliot had to bite his lip to force the grin from staying out of his voice. “Both.”

A pause as Luke took this in. “And?”

“And what?” It had become kind of impossible not to grin, though Elliot thought he was being very noble and manful about trying.

Luke huffed impatiently against his neck. “And, well… you liked it?”

“Yeees,” Elliot said. It had occurred to him belatedly that this was dangerously close to the kind of talking about exes that Luke probably wouldn’t like. Then again, Luke was the one asking questions, and Luke was definitely interested in the answers, if the way he was squirming against Elliot’s backside was anything to go by.

“Was there, uhm.” He cleared his throat. “Was there a way that you, er, preferred?”

“I liked both.”

“Right. Is that… uhm… do you think-”

“Luke,” Elliot interrupted, trying to make his voice gentle instead of pushy. “Do you want to fuck me? Is that what you’re asking?” He paused. “Because you can, if you like. I am 100% on board. I just don’t want to, you know, rush you into anything.”

Which was daft, really; it was just another thing to do or not do, with no more significance than what they’d done already. Elliot wasn’t sure why he was trying to be solicitous about that particular thing, and not about letting Luke put his mouth or hands on him. Virginity was awkward, he decided; unless you had to face off against prudish unicorns, it really didn’t come in handy for anything.

Luke exhaled a long, shaky breath and buried his face against Elliot’s neck. His skin was burning hot.

“I’m not sure,” he whispered, but his hips told a different story; he was thrusting furtively, small rubbing motions against Elliot’s arse. He was very hard, slick with pre-come, and Elliot tilted his hips for better access.

“We can just do this, if you want,” he murmured, opening his thighs and then closing them around Luke’s cock, twisting his head to catch the hitched breath off Luke’s lips. 

They kissed, and Luke was moving against him, clumsily at first, but getting it quickly. There was definitely something to be said for kinaesthetic learning, Elliot reflected, as Luke drove up high between his thighs, making him moan and thrust back.

Luke was gasping too; their motion had brought him into the crease of Elliot’s arse and his hips nudged at him instinctively. He tensed and paused; leaned over Elliot to seek his gaze.

“Can I… can we…?” he blurted. “I mean, can we try?” He was blushing furiously, but his eyes were frank on Elliot’s face, his pupils wide with lust. Elliot wanted to lick him all over. Thoroughly.

“Yeah,” he said instead, pulling Luke’s hand between his legs. “Yeah. We can.”

Luke’s face brightened, then almost immediately fell. “I’m… not sure what to do, though,” he confessed sheepishly, moving his fingers with tentative awkwardness. Elliot had to laugh but took the sting out of it by kissing Luke again, then trailing kisses to his ear. 

“Well, it’s not rocket science, Sunborn.”

“What the hell is rocket science?”

“Never mind. It’s not, uhm, complicated swordplay. And I’ll be here to help you out.” He nipped Luke’s collar bone gently. “Do you have anything slippery? Aloe cream, or ointment, or…?”

“I have weapons oil – does that work?”

“Uhm, depends what it’s made of,” Elliot hedged. “I’m not letting you put bear grease or anything else disgusting up my arse, just so we’re clear.”

Luke snorted. “It’s clove oil.”

“Oh, okay, that should do. Go get it.”

Luke rolled out of bed readily enough, padding naked across the room to rummage in his weapons chest. Elliot pushed himself up on one elbow to enjoy the view. Luke’s bright colours were shaded to muted honey-gold in the drab morning light. His hair was mussed beyond repair, feathers stuck out haphazardly from his wings, and there were dried streaks of come on his toned belly. He was a vexingly lovely mess. Elliot watched him and wondered at the bizarre warmth curling in his belly, the absence of apprehension that had shaded all his other first mornings with another person.

He was almost glad when something practical interrupted his contemplations. “Huh. I wonder if we need condoms.”

Luke raised his head to frown at him. “What?”

“Oh my god, do the Borderlands even _have_ condoms? What barbaric realm of sexual unsafety are we living in? Oh my god. Does syphilis exist? This is a land of doom.”

“Elliot,” Luke said with as much exasperation and patience as a man in a rather obvious state of arousal could be expected to muster, “As usual, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why do we need weird sauces made of tomato and mustard seed for this? I mean, if that’s something you really like doing, we can try but I’m not sure I’ll-”

“Not condiments, you beautiful imbecile. Condoms. They’re, uh, little transparent sock-type things you pull over your cock to protect you from diseases.”

Luke’s face cleared somewhat. “Oh, you mean sheaths. Why didn’t you say so? We have sheaths.”

Elliot blinked up at him. “We do?”

“Well, not me personally. I mean they exist. In, uhm, certain establishments where you… well, Louise told me about it.” Luke’s ears were blazing red. 

“Your sister,” Elliot declared with great admiration, “is a true woman of the world and paragon of general excellence.”

“Okay.” Luke frowned, which was perhaps an understandable reaction to hearing gushing praise about your sister from the boy you were currently naked with, Elliot realised belatedly. “She said they’re made of sheep intestine.”

“What? Ew.”

“Yeah. Uhm, do we _need_ sheaths?” Luke, standing by his weapons chest with a small clay bottle clutched in his hand, looked apprehensive. Elliot gave it a moment’s thought, as much as he was able. He’d used them with Jase but realised that, elven fertility rituals and the availability of silphium aside, he was woefully under-informed about the range of, or indeed need for, prophylactics in the Borderlands.

“I really need to find some reference works on sexual health in the Borderlands,” he declared, frowning. “As soon as possible. I can’t believe I’ve neglected this important field of study.”

“Okay, but… not now?” Luke was sliding back into bed, a pleading look on his face, and Elliot had to laugh and pulled him in for a kiss. 

“No,” he whispered. “Not now. We’re fine.” Also, he was not putting sheep’s intestine anywhere his anatomy. He made a mental note to add “invent better condom material” to his long list of things to fix about the Borderlands.

Then Luke rolled half on top of him, all eagerness and wings and hot kisses, and Elliot forgot all about sheep’s intestines. 

There was some wriggling and laughing as Luke made assumptions about positioning, and Elliot educated him about the faultiness of said assumptions, and demonstrated by wrestling Luke down on his back and straddling him. 

“Easier this way,” he explained, leaning over for a kiss. “I can do the work and you can just lie back and think of the Borderlands.”

“What,” said Luke, laughter low in his voice. “Why would I think of the Borderlands? I swear, nothing you say ever makes any sense.”

“Shut up and learn,” Elliot told him sternly, reaching for his hand, and tipped oil onto his fingers. He guided Luke’s hand, and watched Luke’s face, catching each nuance of surprise and eagerness. He moved on Luke’s fingers, showing him how; smiled as he got it, learning fast. 

“Yeah,” Elliot breathed, and leaned down to kiss him. “That’s good. Fuck. Yeah.”

“There?” Luke asked, curling his fingers again; his voice was rough and Elliot could tell he couldn’t wait much longer. Which was fine; Elliot felt tense and over-heated, everything in him drawn taut and ready. He moved up, off Luke’s fingers; kissed the protests off his mouth and then sat up to watch Luke’s face as he took him inside.

It was well worth watching. Elliot sank down slowly, never taking his eyes off Luke’s face, which was sublime: he looked stunned and wanton, his mouth dropped open in a soft, shocked _oh._

“Okay?” Elliot asked softly, when he was fully seated. He had a little trouble with his own voice. Luke jerked his head in a single nod. He was staring up at Elliot as if he’d never seen him before. 

“Okay. I’m going to move now,” Elliot told him breathlessly, and he did. He spread both hands on Luke’s chest, fingers brushing over Luke’s hard nipples, and started to move. Luke made a lovely, desperate noise at the sudden friction, and his hips came up to meet Elliot’s when he rode back down. Elliot smiled at him. “That’s it,” he encouraged, and pulled Luke’s sheet-clenched hands to his hips. “Just like that.”

Luke’s fingers curled around his hip bones, digging into his skin. He was bucking up as if he couldn’t help it, his first few thrusts too jerky, out of sync, but after a few moments they found a rhythm, and then they were rocking together urgently, Luke’s motions matching his. Luke’s entire body was straining upward; even his wings were curving off he bed, trying to beat. It was chaotic, desperate, a little clumsy. It was the hottest thing Elliot had ever seen.

He felt his climax gathering at the base of his spine, his body loose and open, eager to pull Luke as deep inside him as he could. He could tell Luke wasn’t going to last. He was digging his teeth into his lower lip, a fine sheen of sweat gathering on his face. His grip on Elliot’s hips tightened to bruising force. 

“Elliot,” he gasped. “Elliot, oh god, I can’t, I’m-”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Elliot told him, forcing the words out despite his own shortness of breath. “You can. Do it. I want you to,” he added, squeezing on a downstroke, and Luke threw his head back with a curse, arched his back and came. Elliot rolled his hips against him, feeling the prolonged spurts of wetness inside him, and grasped for his own cock, jerking himself frantically. It took about three pulls before he came all over Luke’s heaving chest and belly, curling his toes in the sheets with the intensity of it.

Luke caught him when he toppled, cupping the back of Elliot’s head. He slipped free of Elliot’s body with an awkward motion that made them both wince, but then their legs were tangling again, their bodies pressed together, and that was better. For a long time neither of them moved at all. Elliot felt the stickiness between them, the frantic thud of Luke’s pulse and the fluttering of wings, and never wanted to move, or open his eyes.

“Okay?” he muttered, eventually. 

The warm chest beneath his ear shook with laughter. “‘Okay’?” Luke repeated incredulously. “Yeah, it was ‘okay.’ It’ll do. I had a passable time. Did I not seem like I had a passable time?”

“Shut up, loser,” Elliot said, smiling into his skin. He was already half asleep, with Luke’s hand sliding into his hair, and thought, with drowsy pleasure, that this was excellent indeed: soon, he’d be able to wake up a second time.


End file.
